Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Judge My Playlist Volume 5: "Light Bulb"

Yeah, what the hell?

Oh, man. This CD came early. I think it’s first inspiration
was The Velvet Underground’s “Beginning to See the Light.” And, for the record,
I’m now confused all over again about The Velvets, because I picked up Legs
McNeil’s and Gillian McCain’s Please Kill Me…by which I mean, I think I just
reached the break-point where The Exploding Plastic Inevitable morphed into The
Velvet Underground most of us know, and with the idea that, as Ronnie Cutrone
put it, “Lou was trying to become commercial.”

And, again, I’m shit for timelines. I have no idea what The
Velvets sounded like between 1966 and 1967 – i.e., the period when they
functioned as part of The Exploding Plastic Inevitable. It’s just that I’m
guessing that “Beginning to See the Light” came after the whole “commercial”
thing happened.

Also, I love that freakin’ song. As in, all of it. I can see
how “There are problems in these times, but – whoo! – none of them are mine”
comes like an anthem to privilege. I see it more as half-Buddhist release. If
of the most Western variety.

The overarching thought of what I wound up calling “The
Light Bulb” CD grows from that – e.g., the animating logic of the Serenity Prayer – or the opposite thereof, see Janis Joplin’s “Mercedes Benz,” one of
your better anthems of fatalism. But isn't that just the flipside of contentment? Call it an homage to the idea that we are,
everyone one of us, what we do in the world, and for good or ill.

So, here it is, the playlist…and, whoops, I did want to
address something. A couple followed the first playlist in this series and, for starters, flattered. I wanted to keep it easy, so that people could
follow the individual playlists, but, thanks to the way Spotify talks to
twitter, I kept getting the wrong title/info on my twitter links, and I didn’t
want people to get the mistaken impression they’d already heard something when
they hadn’t, and goddamn technology. So, yeah, each week, I create a new
playlist. Sorry for the inconvenience. Sincerely.

If you like what I’m doing, maybe just follow snackyd on
Spotify? OK, now the playlist:

1. The Great Song of Indifference – Bob Geldof

2. !Que Vida! – Love

3. Beyond Belief – Elvis Costelllo

4. Beginning to See the Light – The Velvet Underground

5. I See You Baby – Groove Armada

6. LDN – Lily Allen

7. Daisy Glaze – Big Star

8. Hang On to Yourself – David Bowie

9. Mercedes Benz – Janis Joplin

10. Get It While You Can – The Dirtbombs

11. Long Week – Georgie James

12. Keep Your Head – The Ting Tings

13. Hell Yes – Beck

14. Go-Go Gadget Gospel – Gnarles Barkley

15. O, My Soul – Big Star

16. The Negotiation Limerick File – Beastie Boys

17. Our Happiness Is Guaranteed – Quasi

18. Bodhisattva Vow – Beastie Boys

19. Nobody’s Fault but My Own – Beck

20. Riki Taki Tavi – Donovan

21. I’m Free – The Who

22. Motor Way – Guided By Voices

And, goddammit! A repeat?! Just one playlist apart? (For
those who have not been playing along, it’s the Quasi song.) Tighten it the
fuck UP, Bull…

And I’ll post something on Spotify soon. And,
with that, till the next playlist.